The present invention relates to a device for portioning a continuous strand in order to form individual portions, especially a device for portioning comprising at least one pair of pliers associated to a cutting blade, particularly for producing sausages from a continuous strand constituted of minced meat or fish and/or vegetables, covered by a skin or casing.
There has been known from patent document EP 1 434 490, portioning devices for producing sausage-type products, comprising a pair of opposite pliers able to be moved towards one another by actuation means from an open position to a closed position in order to pinch the strand, and cutting means comprising one blade associated to the pair of pliers able to be actuated by actuation means to cut the strand when the pliers are in a closed position. Each plier comprises one plate provided at the end with a front pinching edge, substantially V-shaped, with the two pliers being shifted in relation to one another in such a way that during their displacement towards the closed position, the plates overlap like shears, and form by their front edge a passage or diaphragm whose cross-section decreases progressively. The two pliers are arranged and moved in such a way that a passage remains in the closed position. The blade may be mounted on one of the two pliers and be actuated by a jack to cut the strand just upstream or downstream from the plates.
This plier system ensures a progressive pinching around the strand, limiting risks of casing tearing. Meanwhile, in the event of producing sausages from a strand obtained by coextrusion of the casing and a food product, the shearing efforts applied by the pliers on the casing that has just been formed, for example by gelling, may be too important, and lead to a breaking of the casing. Furthermore, the cutting being realized just upstream or downstream from the pliers, the food product tends to come out of the casing by the end of the sausage formed on the side of the blade.